Writing Insights

Unfortunately, attorneys are constantly reading cases, statutes, briefs and memoranda that are remarkably stilted and lengthy, and as a result, our writing often becomes pedantic, dull and dreary. We force our readers to hack through a thicket of words attempting to understand our point. Frequently, they simply stop trying to comprehend in sheer frustration. Infuse life into your words by remembering the basics tenants of sound writing set forth below.

• Create Word Pictures. Use descriptive words (piercing screams for help, glistening red Corvette), not vague concepts (A loud cry, a small car). Strive to create vivid pictures with colorful words that set images floating in your reader's imagination.
• Use the Active Voice. The passive voice dilutes the message: “I Have a Dream” has impact; “A Dream Has Been Had by Me” does not. “Just Do It” is vigorous, while “It Should Be Done by Me” neither inspires one to buy the product nor use it.
• Be Precise. Our sentences are often so convoluted and complex, by the time we complete a thought, it is often difficult to determine who did what to whom. If the sentence is not direct and clear, rewrite it. As Truman Capote once said, “Good writing is rewriting.”

Avoid Hyperbole. Our passion for our position often results in overstatements: “Every workers' compensation statute in every state will be forever eviscerated if this decision stands.” Hardly. Overstatements undermine your credibility, and that is a handicap that is very difficult to overcome. State, do not overstate, your case.

Eliminate Legalese. Using language understood (we hope) by attorneys may cause you to feel erudite and may impress your colleagues, but it can, and often does, simply obscure your point, and obscurity seldom persuades.

Hone and refine your writings until they are crisp and precise. That requires enormous discipline, but it results in far more compelling and persuasive writing.

Put the argument into a concrete shape, into an imagesome hard phrase, sound and solid as a ball, which they can see and handle and carry home with them and the cause is half won.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Attorneys face a Herculean challenge as writers, because we are often compelled to reduce months, perhaps years, of research, fact-gathering, and analysis into a concise written package: a brief, a motion, or an oral argument. In those situations, every point, sentence and paragraph must be distilled to its essence, with no unnecessary words or thoughts.

Unfortunately, attorneys are constantly reading cases, statutes, briefs and memoranda that are remarkably stilted and lengthy, and as a result, our writing often becomes pedantic, dull and dreary. We force our readers to hack through a thicket of words attempting to understand our point. Frequently, they simply stop trying to comprehend in sheer frustration. Infuse life into your words by remembering the basics tenants of sound writing set forth below.

• Create Word Pictures. Use descriptive words (piercing screams for help, glistening red Corvette), not vague concepts (A loud cry, a small car). Strive to create vivid pictures with colorful words that set images floating in your reader's imagination.
• Use the Active Voice. The passive voice dilutes the message: “I Have a Dream” has impact; “A Dream Has Been Had by Me” does not. “Just Do It” is vigorous, while “It Should Be Done by Me” neither inspires one to buy the product nor use it.
• Be Precise. Our sentences are often so convoluted and complex, by the time we complete a thought, it is often difficult to determine who did what to whom. If the sentence is not direct and clear, rewrite it. As Truman Capote once said, “Good writing is rewriting.”

Avoid Hyperbole. Our passion for our position often results in overstatements: “Every workers' compensation statute in every state will be forever eviscerated if this decision stands.” Hardly. Overstatements undermine your credibility, and that is a handicap that is very difficult to overcome. State, do not overstate, your case.

Eliminate Legalese. Using language understood (we hope) by attorneys may cause you to feel erudite and may impress your colleagues, but it can, and often does, simply obscure your point, and obscurity seldom persuades.

Hone and refine your writings until they are crisp and precise. That requires enormous discipline, but it results in far more compelling and persuasive writing.